Central Park

"Sue, fight with Malice and find out why she's teaming up with the Hate Monger and what Doctor Doom has to do with this," Reed Richards said, as the Fantastic four entered the battle. He and the Thing held several weapons that the Thunder Gods gang had in their possession and planned to use on their enemies.

Nodding to her dearest husband, Sue Storm raced into battle with Malice, who was really Queen Invisible. Doctor Doom's wife was dressed in Sue's former identity as Malice, leather, studs, and all. Besides their different hair styles and costumes, they were identical. Which infuriated Sue all the more.

"Who put you up to this? Doom? Or the Hate Monger? Who's really behind all this? Inquiring minds want to know," Sue said, as she encased herself in a protective invisible force bubble.

"Doom has big plans for you," Malice/Queen Invisible said, as she retaliated with a pulse of pure invisible power.

"What kind of plans? Not the kinds that he has used in the past and Reed has always defeated him with ease."

"You're not priveleged to know."

"I've heard enough from you."

Malice hit Sue with a bolt of invisible balls. It struck like a battering ram. She was almost knocked unconscious but not quite. Sue held her head where the blow was felt.

Sue then got an idea. She used a maneuver that Sue herself used when she was Malice and put it into action against this false Malice. What happened was this; she used invisible blasts to rip asunder the ground beneath Malice and lift her into the air. Malice flew thousands of feet into the air and she then fell straight for the waiting earth below.

But before she fell to the ground, there was a flash of light and then she disappeared.

She was gone.

To where, only the Fantastic Four knew.

"Doom," Sue whispered.

Sue then ran to where the rest of the FF were facing off against the villains. Reed and Ben were fighting the Super Skrull with all of the Thunder Gods's weapons. But the Super Skrull was just too powerful with his switching of powers.

"No, Reed, let me," Sue said, as she cut off K'lrt's oxygen around his head. His flame was doused, his flight capabilities all but gone… he was powerless.

K'lrt fell to the ground, just as Queen Invisible did. But he didn't disappear, at least not yet.

"My battle is not yet done with you, Fantastic Four, and I shall test your mettle," K'lrt said, as he prepared to vanquish his hated enemies.

"I know how I can defeat him," Reed said, as he held up one of the Thunder Gods's guns at the Super Skrull. "I'll just recalibrate the gun that the leader of the gang used on you, Ben, to temporarily put his powers in remission. Unfortunately, it would only work on his Fantastic Four powers, not his Skrull powers."

"Aw, c'mon, Reed, can't you take his powers away forever and leave us with less grief," Ben said.

"I don't think that this weapon has that capacity. Well, anyway, let's hit it!"

With the pull of the trigger, Reed fired the gun straight at the Super Skrull, halting the use of his powers for the moment.

Before another word can be spoken, the Super Skrull, the Hate Monger, and the Psycho-man disappeared along with Malice. But before they did, Johnny melted the Psycho-man's Hate Box and they all knew that he would have to build a new one when they fought again.

"C'mon, team, I think this battle is over for the nonce," Reed exclaimed. "We can deal with Doom a little while later. We have urgent business to conduct at our home turf."

"Aw, don't tell me, Big Brain,' Ben complained.

"Yes, Ben, we have to turn our bad press into good press."

Ben sighed and the Fantastic Four returned home in their Pogo Plane.

Four Freedoms Plaza

With the melting of the Hate Box and the disappearance of the Hate Monger and Psycho-man, the hold that those two villains had on New York City was broken. Reed Richards decided to have a press conference with all the major networks and newspapers to discuss what had transpired over the past couple of days. The FF felt it would ease everyone's minds, knowing what possessed them to turn on the Fantastic Four.

When the discussion and backtalk finally died down, Reed Richards approached the mike and spoke into it. "Ladies and gentlemen of the press, we of the Fantastic four are holding this press conference to let everyone of the city of New York know that the surge of hate that seemingly took hold of everyone was not their own or our own, for that matter. It was through the machinations of beings called the Hate Monger and the Psycho-man. They caused everyone to hate the FF and the Thing in particular.

"I am sorry that you had to be victim to their evil deeds and I am working to try to find out a way to let this never happen again. At least not in our lifetimes."

With this last comment, all present laughed.

"Now, we will pose for a photo shoot…"

For the next several minutes, all of the photographers from the major networks and newspapers shot pictures of the famous Fantastic Four. Sparks of light flashed in and out as the shutterbugs clicked their cameras.

"Thank you," Reed said, as he and the FF departed for their lab and rec room.

The Rec Room

Later, as the effects of the battle had worn down on the FFers and they had time to properly relax, the Thing sat down in his lounge chair, reading a comic book. Reed brought the guns of the Thunder Gods gang and the melted Hate Box into his lab, Sue applied much needed makeup to her lips and eyes, and Johnny read his mail. There was a note from the mayor, thanking them from saving the city once again.

Sue came back into the room and turned on the news. A television reporter appeared on the screen and read from her notes. "Tonight, Reed Richards, of the Fantastic Four, revealed to the city that the current spread of hate was the machinations of super criminals. He also revealed that a relative of the Storms's was added to the FF family. Her name is Lila. She has no code-name yet and she has a variety of powers. Welcome aboard, Lila."

The Thing grabbed the remote from Sue and shut the program off. He said, "Lissen, Suzie, I don't need some nutjob reporter remindin' me how great I am. If it weren't for that Thunder Gods gang takin' away m'powers, I could have taken them."

"Yeh, right, Ben," Johnny said. "I don't understand something. You were a football player, Ben, why couldn't you handle that mob all by yourself?"

"I could've handled them, sure, but I wanted to give them some good press. Y'see, I knew it was the Hate Monger all along. I just wanted to find out what their plan was."

"Yeh, right, again."

"It's all right, Ben," Sue said. "Everyone has his or her shortcomings. Even one as you cannot handle defeat."

"Or even de-hands," Ben retorted, as they all winced at his bad play on words. "Yeh, I know what yer sayin'. An' I know yer right."

"Thanks, Ben. Look you got mail, too. Why don't you open it?"

Ben took the package, all wrapped up in bows, and suddenly seeing the note attached it to it and who it was signed by, went bug-eyed with fear.

"Ohmygod, it's from the Yancy Street Gang, you open it, Sue. I don't know what is inside of it. I can't bear to watch."

"Don't worry, Ben, I'll open it for you," Sue said, calming his nerves. "You should learn to face your fears, instead of running away from it."

Sue carefully took the wrapping off the package and took the little box out. She opened and saw the gift. "Look, Ben, you're being ridiculous. It's Stetson cologne."

"Cologne, ya gotta be kiddin' me?" Ben asked.

"Johnny, why don't you spray some on Ben," Sue said.

"Kid, no, don't!!"

Not heeding the Thing's warning, Johnny Storm took the cologne bottle out of Sue's hands and sprayed it on Ben's face. Instead of cologne spraying out, it was alcohol.

"Now, look what you did, kid," Ben shouted.

Johnny laughed. "Good, ol' Yancy Streeters."

Ben grumbled. "One of these days I'll get my revenge on them."

"Sure you will," Johnny said. "Sure, you will, Benjy."

With that, the three members of the FF started to laugh out loud.

Latveria

Sitting on his throne chair, Doom pondered his latest master plan to put the Fantastic Four in their rightful place. Beneath his superior intellect. He had gathered all of the villains during the Hate Reign but they eventually failed. Now they were resting peacefully within his lab. Even the Super Skrull.

Then, Queen Invisible, his wife, entered the throne room. "What is it, my dear? You seem troubled."

"My latest plan to defeat the FF has become a failure like so many others."

"What are you talking about? We almost killed them with the Hate Monger's help. When they arrive, we will able to finish the job."

Doom rose. "And this time there can be no room for failure."